46None the less, it must be recalled that, in order to overcome the adverse consequences which may result from the absence of a limitation period with regard to the exercise by the administration of its powers, the Court has held that, in the absence of any such period, the fundamental requirement of legal certainty has the effect of preventing the Commission from indefinitely delaying the exercise of its powers, and that, therefore, the Community judicature, when examining a complaint alleging that the Commission' s action was too late, must not merely find that no limitation period exists, but must satisfy itself that the Commission did not act with unreasonable delay (judgments of the Court of Justice in Case 52/69 Geigy v Commission [1972] ECR 787, paragraph 21, concerning the Commission' s power to impose fines for infringement of the competition rules, and Joined Cases C-74/00 P and C-75/00 P Falck and Acciaierie di Bolzano v Commission [2002] ECR I-7869, paragraph 140, concerning the review of aid granted under the ECSC Treaty).
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